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Arizona AG wants more funding for prosecuting border cases

The Arizona Attorney General's Office is seeking more funding to ease the burden brought by a rise in cases at the border.

The Arizona Capitol times reports that officials say the caseload for prosecutors in the office's southern Arizona unit has gone up significantly.

Attorney General's spokesman Ryan Anderson says the office hasn't gotten additional funding. But the Department of Public Safety, which has made more arrests through the Arizona Border Strike Force, continues to get funds.

The Border Strike Force was established by Gov. Doug Ducey in 2015. Under the initiative, DPS must improve its ability to address border crimes such as drug trafficking, weapon smuggling and vehicle theft.

A majority of the strike force cases involve drug-smuggling. Anderson says even open-and-shut cases can be time consuming.

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